TRAPPED

38

     "Thanks." I mumble. I walk out and go to a more concealed sitting area before turning to the window and putting it over my head. I lean my head on a small table in front of me and close my eyes, satisfied with the temporary relief my cold cap brings.

     A few minutes go by before I hear my name. I look up and pull the cold cap up a bit. The guy who sat next to me in Religion is a few feet away.

     "What are you doing down here?" I ask.

     "Miss told me to come find you." He responds. "What's on your head?"

     "None of your business. Just go back to class."

     "Nah. It's boring." He sits on the chair across from me and pulls his phone out from his pocket. "Why do you have that on your head?"

     "I have a headache." I whisper.

     He frowns. "Normally they just give us a paracetamol. How'd you get them to give you that?"

     I shrug, curling my arms around my stomach. Riley is the only one who knows. I asked her not to tell anybody, and she promised she wouldn't.

•

I take the cap off at lunch and go to meet Riley. She's sitting at the same lunch table she was on on my first day, and tells someone to move so I can sit beside her.

     "Hey, Celine." She says.

     "Hi." I reply. I put my lunch box on the table and remind her she can have whatever she wants. She takes a chocolate bar.

     I look around the lunch hall, my gaze meeting Léo's. I turn back to Riley when she says my name. "Celine. Are you okay?"

     "Yeah. I'm gonna go to the toilet." I say. I stand and walk to the girls toilets. I go on my phone, finding a message from my dad.

     DAD: Feel any better?

     ME: Ya.

     DAD: Good. I'll see you after your brothers' game.

     ME: K.

     I put my phone away and use the toilet before leaving and washing my hands. I walk back to the lunch hall, finding the boy from Religion sitting in my seat next beside Riley. He was told to go to class when the nurse realised nothing was wrong with him. I didn't say anything to him, only listened. I think the only reason he was there was because he wanted to skip the lesson.

     I come up behind him. "Move."

     He looks at me. "No."

     "I was here first."

     "And now I am." He replies. He smiles.

I smile back before squeezing into the spot between him and Riley. He rolls his eyes.

"You should've just moved, Will." Riley tells him.

I laugh. "Your name is Will? Like willy?"

He glares at me. "No."

Riley giggles. "Okay, willy."

I giggle too. He ignores us and turns to the people beside him. For the rest of lunch, Riley and I talk, until we have to go to our lessons again.

I get through Science easily. Finally I have Maths, and it goes very steadily and I even think I do well until the teacher tells me to stay behind at the end of the lesson.